“And the Colored Girls Go….: African American Women Vocalists and the Sound of Race, Gender, and Authenticity in Rock and Roll”

The University of Michigan Department of Musicology is delighted to present a talk on Friday, February 1 by Prof. Maureen Mahon (New York University) as part of our Distinguished Lecture Series. No RSVP is required. We encourage you to join us.

The talk will address the experiences and musical style of African American women such as P. P. Arnold, Merry Clayton, Venetta Fields, and Doris Troy who brought their gospel-trained voices to hard rock during the late 1960s and 1970s. Their interracial, cross-gender collaborations with artists such as David Bowie, Elton John, Lynryd Skynrd, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, and Neil Young highlight the intersection of race, gender, authenticity, and romanticized notions of "black sound" among artists and fans.